In brief: Census Bureau layoffs boost county jobless rate

Kootenai County’s jobless rate zoomed up to 10 percent, the highest it’s been since March, the Idaho Department of Labor said Friday.

The bad news includes the loss of about 1,200 jobs in June – some of them laid-off Census Bureau workers. The county’s jobless rate in May was 9.1 percent.

About 7,200 Kootenai workers filed for unemployment benefits in June, an increase of more than 600 from the month before, the labor department said.

Statewide, Idaho’s June unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percent to 8.8 percent in June. Labor officials said the drop is likely due to termination of extended federal jobless benefits; as those benefits ceased, workers became discouraged and stopped looking for work.

Idaho’s June 2009 jobless rate was 7.9 percent.

Tom Sowa

Skipper Bill’s boat shop

closes with retirement

Skipper Bill’s, a Spokane Valley boat retailer for more than 30 years, has shut down.

Owner Bill Bongers operated the boat equipment dealership at 7915 E. Sprague Ave. Attempts to reach Bongers were unsuccessful.

Bongers started Skipper Bill’s in the Spokane Valley in the late 1970s, after working for Trudeau’s Marina, another area boat dealer. Bongers closed the dealership on Thursday, leaving a sign on the business door saying he was retiring.

Tom Sowa

Toyota says Lexus recall

includes 138,000 in U.S.

WASHINGTON – Toyota Motor Corp. says it intends to recall 138,000 Lexus vehicles in the United States to fix faulty engines in the latest quality problem at the world’s No. 1 automaker.

The company says flaws in valve springs, a crucial engine component, could make the vehicle stall while in motion. Toyota said in a statement Friday it plans to file paperwork on the recall with the government next week.

The recall affects certain GS, IS and LS vehicles from the 2006-2008 model years.

Toyota had announced it would recall 270,000 Lexus vehicles around the world to address the engine problem.

Associated Press

Briefcase

• Preppy teen clothing seller Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Friday that it closed a second store in New York due to a bedbug infestation. The clothing dealer said it asked New York City’s mayor’s office how it should deal with the problem, and a spokeswoman noted that it’s unlikely the source of the bedbugs was a supplier.

• American Airlines’ parent company said Friday the personal information of about 79,000 retirees, former and current employees has been compromised after a hard drive was stolen from its Fort Worth headquarters. No customer data was affected.

• Dr Pepper is prescribing some sugar this summer in honor of its 125th anniversary, the latest in a series of moves by soda makers to temporarily swap out high fructose corn syrup. The spicy soda made by Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is rolling out Dr Pepper “Made With Real Sugar” this weekend through early September.